


Pretty Boy

by CommanderTeatime



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Episode: s01e04 Raising Hell, Friendship, M/M, Mutual Pining, Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-08
Updated: 2018-12-08
Packaged: 2019-09-14 02:53:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16904736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CommanderTeatime/pseuds/CommanderTeatime
Summary: Magnus doesn't have to know any of the Shadowhunters in his loft to know that there's something wrong between the parabatai, that Alec is incredibly gay, and that Magnus's heart aches for him in the most absurd way. Isabelle Lightwood doesn't have to know the warlock in front of her to know that he's already pining.While Clary draws the pentagram to summon the memory demon, Isabelle and Magnus talk.





	Pretty Boy

**Author's Note:**

> Lemme just say-- Happy Birthday to the best fictional character ever. I would like to thank Magnus Bane for his fictional existence.

Alec was behind him, pretending he wasn't. 

Magnus could see his soft frown in his reflection of the window, the way he was looking at his phone when he wasn't turned back to look at Magnus's shoulders. It was hard watching Alec struggling to find his place, his footing, even among his siblings. It was obvious that something had happened, or was on the cusp of happening. The parabatai on the couches in his living room were at a make it or break it point, and it was hard not to watch them as they bickered in small exchanges of five words at a time.

Part of the problem was easy to deduce. Magnus had seen it in Alec's eyes the first time he had seen Alec look at Jace, the hurt of pining, the bitter feeling of evident rejection from someone too straight to realize it. He could see Alec's mask, too, the exaggeration of every other movement or emotion to compensate for his hurt-- the way he gave Izzy warning looks, an almost silent 'shut up', as well as the aggravation in the way his lanky frame every time Clary spoke. It was nicer now, to see Alec a touch softer with Clary out of the room, doodling away a summoning circle on the floor of his extra room, blinking back tears of whatever rune Blondie had carved into her. 

"Don't take it too seriously." Alec's sister, a beautiful girl whose name he couldn't remember under the slight haze of his second martini. She was still glowing, and not just from her silver dress. Her fingers lingered on the necklace Magnus had so carefully put on her only a few moments ago. She turned towards him and the light caught the sequins of her dress as well as his concentration. Magnus didn't let his mind wander to thoughts of Camille when he caught sight of the necklace, instead he focused on her dark eyes.

"Take what too seriously?" He asked, feigning confusion. 

As though there was anything else for him to not take seriously. He could see plain as day that Alec was a wild, startled animal held in a cage. He could see it in every time Alec looked back at him, making sure that he was still in the room. It was strange, knowing that Alec wanted him, but didn't want him at the same time. It was taking every ounce of control Magnus had and didn't have to avoid pulling Alec aside.

Magnus took a sip of his drink and thought about all that he couldn't have. He could feel the overwhelming resistance peeling off of Alec like a miasma-- thousands of years of Clave tradition, propaganda, and homophobia, all internalized in one neat little soldier boy package. It reminded Magnus of the old days when he wore a green carnation, when he had to speak in a code to other men, hiding under layers of doublespeak. Even if he could bring all of it back, all of the hiding and secrecy, he was sure that Alec wouldn't bend so low to follow his heart. 

The Lightwood girl cleared her throat and Magnus had to blink a few times to get out of his head and out of the reflections cast in the window. He knew she was enjoying this, watching the two of them look at each other secretly as though they were star-crossed. Magnus noticed as Alec turned away when his sister cleared her throat, a slight burn of embarrassment on his cheeks and the soft brush of his hand through his hair, pieces of it stuck out and Magnus almost wanted to go and fix them.

"He's just... oblivious." She told him, tossing her hair over her shoulders to further admire the necklace. "You crossed the wires in his brain and he doesn't know what to do about it." 

It was impossible not to smile at that. He hadn't exactly meant to confuse Alec, just hint rather strongly that he was interested, that Alec was much more than a wallflower. It was obvious now that Alec had never thought of himself as something more than the background to everyone else's life. He hadn't considered being something more than what the Clave and his parents groomed him to be. 

He wondered if the energy had confused him as well. It was confusing Magnus, too, the push and pull between them, somehow magnetic, electric, and off-putting all at the same time. He had felt it immediately when Alec's arrow pierced the heart of that Circle member, when he had walked up from behind them and taken the seraph blade from the dead man's hands, twirling it in a show of dominance. Magnus had felt it again when Alec took out the other Circle member, the one who had killed Elias and threatened to take Magnus's eyes. 

It felt like he was standing at a seaside cliff, looking down at the black, sharp shoreline with hazardous rocks, and beyond that, the dark comfort of the sea with its salty spray kissing his skin, all shrouded in the beat of his own heart and the pull of the winds. Magnus felt the urge to jump, the desire to dive from the safety of land and into the welcoming coolness that came with Alec's soft eyes and softer skin. 

"I don't think anyone has ever called Alec pretty." She said.

"That's a shame." He took a careful sip of his drink, and swirled it a little. He should’ve made something sweeter. Magnus hadn’t noticed that his eyes moved back to Alec’s reflection, watching how Alec tensed as Blondie started to talk again. It was so easy to watch him, to see how Alec carried himself and all of his burdens. 

Magnus felt as though he was being rude. The Lightwood girl was quiet beside him, possibly judging him. Had she said something? Had he forgotten to say something in return? He looked up at her, giving her his divided attention.

Her bright smile almost hurt his heart. Her name stayed on the tip of her tongue, telling him that her name fit her, that it was written on her face somewhere in the Lightwood characteristics. Her soft toned dark eyes moved to Alec for a second. “I have a feeling you’ll be needed a lot more by the Institute.” 

Magnus felt himself straighten an inch. "Oh?" He hadn't realized he had been slumping, and almost immediately, her name came flooding back to him.

Isabelle Lightwood smiled, her phone in hand. "I think it's best if we exchange numbers, just because I have a feeling." She offered hers to him, a careful gesture of friendship, of trust. He wondered if this was perhaps part of the turning point he could feel, the shift in the air, in the tide of Shadow World affairs. 

"I don't give my phone number to just anyone, Shadowhunter." He teased, taking his phone out of his jacket pocket. Magnus swiped through his few notifications and opened his contacts before he hesitantly handed her the phone. Isabelle placed hers in his hand. 

Her phone was small in comparison to his, much thinner, too. He liked her case, but he wouldn't tell her that, not unless they actually got to know each other. He couldn't have her making assumptions just yet. If he was going to do anything, it had to be careful, measured. Everything had its time and place, the last thing he wanted was to give anyone the impression he was using Isabelle to get to Alec. 

Magnus carefully added his name and number to her contacts. It felt weird, looking at his own name on the screen, a simple, impersonal 'Magnus Bane' looking back at him. He looked through her emojis and added a crystal ball, as though that would fix the cold feeling the black letters gave off. He offered Isabelle her phone back, but her fingers were still typing away at the screen in her hands, her grip on it light in case Magnus changed his mind.

After a second too long, she handed it back to him with a small smile. "You should probably avoid calling before three in the afternoon, when night patrols are usually catching up on sleep." She smirked, a gentle wink as she turned on her heels to face her bickering brothers. 

He looked at his phone, at the screen she had kept open. A phone number stared back at him under a simple, flirty nickname--  _ Pretty Boy _ .

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! If you like it, please comment.


End file.
